Working Drummer

Jordan Manley made the move to Atlanta in 2014, after growing up and spending the early years of his career in the small town of Columbus, GA. Since moving, he has been a member of several Atlanta-based groups including Black Linen, Lightning Orchestra, and Mattiel, with who he has been touring the U.S. and Europe, opening for the likes of Jack White and St. Paul & The Broken Bones. In this podcast, Jordan talks about: * What Mattiel and her band have learned from each other * The early years of his career in Columbus * Breaking into the Atlanta scene * Struggling with his musical identity * The West African influence in his childhood church * How playing in hip-hop bands made him more attuned to accompanying vocalists * Focusing on the role of the drummer in a given situation, not just the content of the drumming * A different approach to teaching at Meta Music * His goal-setting philosophy This episode is sponsored by Shure Microphones. Enter the Shure Drum Mastery Contest by April 15th!

One of the premier showmen in rock, Carmine Appice became known worldwide for his astonishing live performances and a highly sought-after session drummer, He is known As the drummer for many ground breaking rock bands in the late 60’s to early 70’s like Vanilla Fudge Cactus as well as one of the first super groups with Jeff Beck, Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1976, he joined Rod Stewart’s band, touring, recording and writing two of Stewart’s biggest hits, “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” and “Young Turks.” In the early 1980s, he toured with Ozzy Osborne and Ted Nugent. In the mid ’80s, he formed King Kobra for two Capitol albums and international touring. In the late ‘80s, he formed Blue Murder with Whitesnake’s John Sykes and The Firm’s Tony Franklin. In the early ’90s, he pounded away soul-style for The Edgar Winter Group. As an educator, Carmine was the first to legitimize rock drumming with his landmark book, The Realistic Rock Drum Method, selling over 400,000 copies His latest project is a re-release of his GUITAR ZE

John Bryant is a drummer, percussionist, composer, educator, and music producer residing and working in Dallas, Texas. Originally from Virginia, he moved to Dallas and majored in music at the University of North Texas, where he performed and recorded with the One O’Clock Lab Band. He has recorded and/or performed with numerous artists including Ray Charles, Delbert McClinton, Joe Walsh, Lightnin’ Hopkins, the Paul Winter Consort, and Doc Severinsen. Bryant has played, composed and produced music for many different types of projects that include regional artists, touring shows, major motion pictures, and documentary films for PBS and National Geographic. His latest project is playing and co-producing for a new record with Glen Clark, a hit singer/songwriter and veteran of Bonnie Raitt and Delbert McClinton. Bryant is a founding member of the world music percussion group D’Drum, and acted as producer of the group’s collaboration with composer and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame drummer Stewart Copeland and the Dalla

Danny Young (bald) and Mike McKee (bald) met a few years back while touring together and very quickly bonded over their mutual love for all things drums/percussion. Since then, they started a very nerdy friendship of developing and creating new instruments to use on their respective gigs: Mike with Delta Rae and Danny with Dan Tyminski. In 2018, the two officially joined forces and created “BaldMan Percussion”. The baldmen are continually developing new and unique instruments to help take the drum and percussion world to the a new sonic space! Their first release, The Junk Hat™, is now making it’s way across the world and they are currently in the test stages of their next product! Mike McKee of Raleigh, North Carolina is the drummer/percussionist for the band Delta Rae. He has traveled the world with Delta Rae since 2009, and has performed on Conan O’ Brien, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and The Late Show with Seth Meyers. When not traveling with Delta Rae, Mike teaches private drum lessons, records for va

Drummer/Percussionist Sam Wisman is a versatile fixture in Kansas City’s thriving creative music scene. He is a member of the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra, the Mark Lowrey Trio, Roger Wilder Quartet, Kinnor Philharmonic, Marimba Sol de Chiapas, and the People’s Liberation Big Band. He has performed with the Kansas City Symphony, the Topeka Symphony, New York Voices, Bobby Watson and more. He has worked extensively as a percussionist in musical theater including the Kansas City Repertory Theater, New Theatre Restaurant, Unicorn Theater, Musical Theater Heritage, and the Coterie Theater. Sam has helped premiere works by Harry Connick Jr., Stephen Schwartz, Shirley Jones & Richard Maltby Jr., Henry Krieger & Bill Russell, Samsel/Anderson & Jodi Picoult, and Ahrens & Flaherty. You can also listen to Sam as a DJ for Jazz Afternoon on 90.1 FM KKFI. In this podcast, Sam talks about: How his career of late has become centered around musicals Straddling the classical and jazz departments in college

For over 10 years, Dillon Napier has been the drummer for Grammy Nominated artist Margo Price. From performing at the O2 in London and Red Rocks in Colorado, to performing on multiple TV shows including Saturday Night Live, Margo’s success in recent years has afforded Dillon many unique and bucket list opportunities with many more to come. You can hear Dillon on Margo’s 2016 record, Midwest Farmer’s Daughter as well as the recording, All American Made from 2017 that features Willie Nelson on one track. Well before his work with Margo, Dillon was already a familiar face behind the drums in Nashville’s most popular rock clubs, honky tonk bars, and studios. Dillon has been a go-to hired gun on record and on the road for country, rock, and Americana artists such as Chris Knight, Caitlin Rose, Patrick Sweany, Sonia Leigh, and many more. In this episode, Dillon talks about: * Working with Margo Price * The subtle intricacies of traditional country drumming  * The benefits of learning different styles  * Recordi

Bob Knight was our guest on episode 165 and was so informative and entertaining, we had to go back for more. Bob lives in London where he commands somewhat of a dual career, both as an in-demand drummer and a music agent or “fixer,” matching musicians with bands or artists who need backing. He graduated from the jazz program at the prestigious Royal Academy of Music in London and has gone on to work with some of the biggest names in pop music including Sting, Cee-Lo Green, Charlotte Church, and Jennifer Hudson. His company, BEK Music, has provided musicians for a huge variety of acts from Andrea Bocelli to Eminem. In this episode, Bob talks about: * Custom-building a new practice/rehearsal studio * Being a session drummer week in, week out vs. casting yourself that way on social media * The results of a few months of intensified practicing * Being more committed, confident, and consistent in his timekeeping, and the positive response it’s gotten * The Yamaha EAD10 * Using social media to shine a light on oth

In this episode we share stories and experiences of five accomplished drummers who maintain standard fitness practices as part of their daily and weekly routines. This roundtable includes Matt Iceman – (David Nail), Dave McAfee – (Toby Keith), Corbin Cagle – (indépendent), Mark Poiesz – (Tyler Farr), and helping to moderate the conversation is fitness expert and life coach Danny Elliott. Danny is a drummer and owner at Heart Body Soul.  In this episode, the roundtable talks about:  * What each of them is doing to stay healthy and their personal journey  * Matt Iceman talks about losing over 110 pounds  * The importance of nutrition in conjunction with exercise  * “You can’t out-exercise a bad diet” – Matt Iceman * Misconceptions about products that claim to be healthy * How your exercise routine changes as you age  * Back pain * Warm up routines and staying hydrated * The power of a healthy mental attitude  * The benefits of a daily meditation practice  * Substance abuse and it’s adverse effects  * Self awar

To celebrate our 200th episode, we invited four of our favorite past guests – Seth Rausch, Travis McNabb, Hubert Payne, and Harry Miree – to participate in a roundtable discussion. We then did an extended interview with Chris McHugh. The show was recorded and filmed at The Drum Pad in Nashville at Drum Paradise. Seth Rausch is a skillful drummer currently working as the touring drummer for Keith Urban. Other artists he’s worked for include Gary Allan, Joe Nichols, Phil Vassar, and Little Big Town. While he was with Little Big Town, he had the opportunity to record on two of their records and work with producer Jay Joyce. He continues to collaborate and record with some of Nashville’s top writers, musicians, and producers. Travis McNabb is best known as a longtime member of the band Better Than Ezra, and brings his style and integrity to every situation. In mid-2007, He became the full-time touring and recording drummer with Grammy-award winning act Sugarland. He puts his years of recording and engineering ex

Dusty Simmons was born and raised in Richmond, VA, which he still calls home. He tours and records with The Cris Jacobs Band, and is part of multiple projects in Richmond. Dusty’s dad is a musician and had a garage full of instruments when Dusty was a kid. This is where and when Dusty began learning about music, and he was gigging by his sophomore year in high school. It has been non-stop gigging since then, be it in bands on the road and in the studio, in music stores, or as a drum tech and audio engineer. During his adult life, he has seen an explosion of art and music in Richmond, driven by locally grown creatives, locally owned and operated venues, labels, studios, and the prestigious art school at Virginia Commonwealth University. In this podcast, Dusty talks about * His main gig with the Cris Jacobs Band * His three Richmond-based tribute projects * Secretly practicing on his dad’s gear as a kid * The vibrant music and arts scene in Richmond * His Instagram Live show, “Diggin’ with Dusty” * How he lear

Rod Morgenstein’s unique, dynamic and musical drumming style has led to Rod’s winning the Best Progressive Rock Drummer award in Modern Drummer Magazine’s Reader’s Poll 5 years in a row (1986-1990) and Best All-Around Drummer (1999), earning him a permanent position in the magazine’s prestigious Honor Roll. Rod was a founding member of the groundbreaking group the Dixie Dregs. Rod is also very well known as a member of the award winning rock group Winger. These two groups have reunited in recent years and continue to tour regularly.   Other projects that Rod has been involved with are The Steve Morse band, The Rudess/Morgenstein Project, the jam band Jazz Is Dead, Platypus, whose two recordings feature John Myung (Dream Theater), Ty Tabor (King’s X) and Derek Sherinian (Planet X) as well as an offshoot of Platypus, The Jelly Jam, a power trio featuring Rod, Ty Tabor and John Myung. In addition to his recording and touring credits, Rod is very active in drum education. He recently retired from the position of

Kevin Leon has been on the Atlanta scene for nearly a decade and recently landed the touring gig with St. Paul & The Broken Bones. Kevin grew up in Birmingham, AL. He studied music at The University of Alabama at Birmingham and got a fast start playing all kinds of gigs on the Birmingham scene. After school, he moved to New York for a year and returned to Birmingham when it became clear he didn’t have the inclination (or the money) to live there long term. He then landed a gig with country artist Niko Moon, which brought him to Atlanta, where he has been active ever since with singer/songwriters, jazz artists, and corporate bands. He is also part owner of Music Lessons Decatur, a local teaching network. In this podcast, Kevin talks about: The somewhat emergency process by which he joined St. Paul His relationships with Chris Fryar and Harry Miree Exploring his non-musical outlet, fishing, on the road Gearing up to be the primary breadwinner when his girlfriend went to grad school Filling your schedule with “w

Gregg Bissonette performing and recording credits include working with Ringo Starr, David Lee Roth, James Taylor, Santana (on his Grammy-award winning Supernatural), Don Henley, Joe Satriani, Andrea Bocelli, ELO, Maynard Ferguson, Spinal Tap, and countless others.  He has recorded for many films—including The Bucket List, Finding Nemo, Best in Show, For Your Consideration, The Bourne Supremacy, The Mighty Wind, The Polar Express, The Devil Wears Prada, Waiting for Guffman, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, The 40-Year-Old Virgin as well as TV shows, including the hit NBC series Friends. Gregg exclusively uses Zildjian Cymbals, Dixon Drums, DW Drum Pedals, Remo Drum Heads, Vic Firth Drum Sticks, Samson Audio, Audix Mics, the Gregg Bissonette Signature Stick Bag by Kaces, XL Specialty road cases, Beato Drum Bags, LT Lug Locks, and LP Percussion products. Kennan Wylie is in his 22nd year as the Director of Percussion Studies at Marcus High School in Flower Mound, TX. Kennan is a free-lance performer in the Dallas-Forth

Jeff Mellott has spent his entire life in Ohio and become a fixture on the Cincinnati scene. His trio, Us Today, recently release its fourth album, Computant. After starting at a community college, he transferred to Ohio Univeristy and went on to earn a master’s degree in Jazz Studies from the College Conservatory of Music at The University of Cincinnati. In addition to Us Today, Jeff performs with guitarist Brandon Coleman and many other Cincinnati-based jazz artists, and has diversified his working life between performing and being a Music Educators Rep for Willis Music. In this podcast, Jeff talks about: * The evolution of Us Today * Getting featured on NPR * The band’s composition process * His upbringing and musical background in Ohio * Starting out at a community college, transferring to Ohio University, and going on to grad school at University of Cincinnati * His other job with Willis Music, outfitting music educators with everything they need from instruments to sheet music to tech * His advice on e

Growing up in Watertown, NY, Sean Paddock started playing the drums at the age of four, and within a year was sitting in, performing live with his musician parents, Don Paddock (bassist) and Claudia Paddock (singer, guitarist) at local nightclubs. By the time he was 9-years-old, Sean had begun formal drum lessons and participated in the school band program. At fourteen, Sean and his family moved to Arizona where he continued his involvement in variety of high school music groups, including marching band, orchestra and stage band. It was during his high school years that he started his music career as a semi-pro, playing paid gigs with his father. After high school, Sean was working as a full-time musician, playing the local music seen both in Phoenix and northern New York. In 1996, Sean traveled to Nashville to check out the music scene, heard that Kenny Chesney needed a drummer, auditioned and landed the gig which he’s been playing ever since. Besides Kenny Chesney, Sean has worked with such rock and country

Bill Stewart has been one of the most unique voices in jazz drumming for decades. He is especially known for his work with jazz guitar greats Pat Metheny, Jim Hall, Peter Bernstein, and most consistently and profoundly, John Scofield. His resume is rounded out with other iconic artists such as Michael Brecker, Maceo Parker, Joe Lovano, and Nicholas Payton. He has released several recording as a leader including Think Before You Think, Snide Remarks, and his latest, Band Menu. Stewart grew up in Iowa but made the move to New York for college and never left, and has remained one of the most sought-after drummers in jazz. In this podcast, Bill talks about: * The dynamic of his new record, and playing and composing for a “chord-less” trio * Growing up in Iowa and playing with family members and in Top 40 bands in high school * His simultaneous development as a drummer and composer * How other genres such as roots/blues and classical have influenced him * His transition from Iowa to the East Coast, and from colle

Bart Robley is a perfect example of a full time musician that stays busy by diversifying his work load through teaching, performing live, recording as well as publishing educational material. Through his many projects, Bart learned the nuances of rock, country, jazz, fusion, hard rock and heavy metal. As his thirst for musical adventures grew, so did his need for larger projects. So he bid goodbye to his small town life in Colorado and in 1989, relocated to Southern California. Bart networked the L.A. music scene, replete with a host of metal, punk and industrial bands. Bart returned to studio work and live performances as a ‘hired gun’ in many diverse projects from country to hard rock. It was one of these situations that led to Bart being hired full time by Southern Rock mainstays The Sam Morrison Band. To date the Sam Morrison Band has recorded 8 CD’s with legendary producer Michael Vail Blum whose credits include work with Madonna and Pink Floyd. The band has sold over 700,000 downloads on I-Tunes and hav

Prior to forming his own jazz orchestra, The BBB Featuring Bernie Dresel, Bernie backed Maynard Ferguson, the Brian Setzer Orchestra, and Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band. Bernie served 15 years for both Setzer and Goodwin. He has been the drummer on numerous Brian Setzer Grammy Award®-winning recordings and more recently on every recording that Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band has released, including the Grammy Award-winners. You can see Bernie on the silver screen and hear him in Jersey Boys. He also played on Jurassic World, Inside Out, Tomorrowland, Minions, American Sniper, Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Mission Impossible 3, Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice, Superman: Man Of Steel, Up, The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie, Cars 2, Super 8, Transformers 3, Get On Up, Star Trek Generations, Star Trek 2009, Speed Racer, The Bourne Supremacy, Payback, The Hulk, Ratatouille, Elf, Me Myself And Irene, The Santa Clause, Once Upon A Time In Mexico, Stuart Little, Jingle All The Way

Sandy Gennaro was born and raised in NYC and currently resides in Nashville TN. Sandy has toured and/or recorded with: Cyndi Lauper, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Bo Diddley, Johnny Winter, The Monkees, Joe Lynn Turner, Michael Bolton, Benny Mardones, Craaft, The Mamas and Papas and Jon Paris. He has recorded several Top 10 singles and has performed for for over a billion fans spanning his 50 year career. Sandy has also made numerous TV appearances including The Tonight Show, The Grammy Awards, The American Music Awards, The MTV New Years Ball, and The Late Show with David Letterman among others. He is also a favored councelor at the Rock and Roll Fantasy Camps. He is currently recording and gigging with various artists in Nashville. Before his move to Nashville in early ‘14, Sandy gave lessons, master classes and inaugurated the Music Business program at the Collective in NYC where he started in 1987. Gennaro is also a corporate/academic inspirational speaker. He has brought his “B.E.A.T.S.” presentation to

Cody Rahn and Ben O’Brien Smith are the creators of Sounds Like A Drum, “an ongoing video series for drummers, audio engineers, and anyone who is responsible for achieving great drum sounds at the source. Sounds Like a Drum offers in-depth tutorials on tuning in ways most have never learned, tips and tricks for a memorable sound, and hacks that you might never have thought of.” Cody’s background as a working drummer in New York and Ben’s background in product development give them a unique and insightful approach to achieving great drum tone, whether that means finding creative new sounds or just troubleshooting the old ones. In this podcast, Ben and Cody talk about: * The philosophy behind the aesthetic and presentation of Sounds Like a Drum * SLAD’s origin story * How to associate certain drum tones with certain genres * Going beyond the “what” and “how” of tone, and getting into the “why” * Developing your ear and taste to inform your tone choices, rather than buying gear * Making confidence part of you s